Thursday, March 4, 2010

The 'Beauty' of DVR

The only downside to a Herman family trip to UConn-Louisville (at Gampel! on Senior Day!), was missing the USA-Canada Gold Medal Hockey Game. But not to worry, right? This is the21st century! We can 'DVR' it. It'll be just like watching it live....

11:00AM-12:00PM - Greg and I take train to Connecticut; I text Robby to remind him to record hockey game. He does.

12:00-3:00 PM - I preemptively text friends, asking them not to send updates; UConn game begins. Huskies off to great start.

3:40 - Kid in seat in front of me turns to friend and says, "1-0 Canada." Dad and I overhear.

4:20 - After blowing big lead, UConn loses on last-second layup.

4:30-6:00 - Car ride home spent in silence: UConn lost, CD player not working, and all of us too fearful to to turn on the radio because we didn't want to hear the hockey score.

5:30 - Text from Lindsey. I contemplate not reading it, but trust it's not about the game. Lindsey: "Pizza 33...YUM."

5:45 - Robby convinces me to tell him what I knew about the first goal.

6:15 - Home, and finally start watching. Mom tells us Robby's SAT tutor is coming at 7:15, so Robby fast-forwards whenever possible. Fast-forward button gets stuck. We miss the first goal. Greg accuses Robby of doing it on purpose. No one's having any fun.

6:55 - USA scores!!! Canada up 2-1 heading into final period. But USA with momentum.

7:15 - Robby's tutor arrives...with fifteen minutes left in third period. We take hour break. No one's happy about it.

7:20 - I go on Robby's computer to check train schedules for getting back to New York. I open a new window, so I don't see anything, but forget Robby's that home screen is ESPN.com. I see image of ice rink, with players from both sides. Canada might have been celebrating, I'm not sure. I convince myself I'm not sure.

7:25 - No longer trusting the internet, I go upstairs and read a New Yorker article about mountain people in the hills of New Jersey.

8:15 - Robby's session ends. We turn on DVR. It's somehow skipped ahead to eighteen minutes left in overtime. Overtime?!?! We rewind to find out what happened. USA incredibly tied the game with 25 seconds left in regulation. And we missed it.

8:20 - We watch overtime from eighteen-minute mark. I ask Robby if he remembered to tape the show after in case game runs over allotted time. He didn't. Yelling and blaming ensues. If game doesn't end in next 15 minutes, we run out of tape. No one enjoys overtime.

8:30 - Sidney Crosby beats Ryan Miller to end the game. Canada wins, but Miller wins MVP. Even though USA lost, I feel nothing but pride for our guys. I watch us graciously shake hands with the Canadians. Hockey might not be up there with my favorite sports, but this tournament was truly spectacular. Honestly, I didn't want it to end.